中国电池制造商欲借上市加快扩张
中国成长最快的锂电池制造商宁德时代新能源科技股份有限公司(CATL)正在计划从首次公开发行(IPO)募集20亿美元，为其扩大规模提供资金。该公司的目标是成为全球最大的电动车电池供应商。
The offering comes as a handful of mostly East Asian companies angle for top positions in the battery industry, and as China — already the world’s largest EV market — seeks to increase the number of electric vehicles in the country.
该公司筹备上市之际，以东亚企业为主的一些公司正在争夺电池行业头把交椅。已经是全球最大电动车市场的中国正致力于增加国内电动车保有量。
In recent months, subsidies for electric cars have helped boost the valuation of Hong Kong-listed BYD, CATL’s main rival for the position of China’s top battery producer by output.
最近几个月，对电动车的补贴帮助提高了在香港上市的比亚迪(BYD)的估值，后者是CATL争夺中国头号电池生产商地位的主要对手。
CATL said in its prospectus it was hoping to raise Rmb13.12bn ($1.98bn) by selling a 10 per cent stake on the Shenzhen stock exchange, suggesting a valuation of about $20bn.
CATL在招股说明书中表示，希望通过在深圳证券交易所发售10%的股份，筹集131.2亿元人民币(合19.8亿美元)，这意味着该公司估值将达到约200亿美元。
Its valuation would be smaller than BYD’s $27bn, following a share price climb of about 50 per cent in just over two months to HK$71.5 on Tuesday.
CATL的估值将低于比亚迪的270亿美元——后者的股价在两个多月里攀升约50%，周二达到71.5港元。
“The [electric vehicle] market has made these battery companies hot these days,” said Dan Zhuang, an analyst at RHB OSK Securities in Hong Kong. “We have not yet seen a clear winner emerge in China.”
“(电动车)市场如今让这些电池公司变得炙手可热，”香港兴业侨丰证券(RHB OSK Securities)分析师Dan Zhuang表示，“我们还看不出谁是中国明显的胜出者。”
CATL said it would use capital raised from the offering to add 24GWh of battery making capacity in its home province of Fujian, and invest in research and development. That would represent a significant expansion for CATL, which had 7.6GWh of capacity last year, according to Goldman Sachs.
CATL表示，将利用此次发行募集的资金，在其总部所在的福建省增加24吉瓦时(GWh)的电池产能，并投资于研发活动。这将成为CATL的一次重大扩张，高盛(Goldman Sachs)的数据显示，该公司的去年的电池产能为7.6GWh。
By comparison, Tesla has said its gigafactory in the Nevada desert will reach a capacity of 35GWh next year, although the US company is known for missing deadlines.
相比之下，特斯拉(Tesla)曾表示，其在内华达州沙漠的“超级工厂”(Gigafactory)明年将达到35GWh的产能，尽管这家美国公司在错过最后期限方面是出了名的。
“They [CATL] have the potential to become the world champion. They are already accepted by global players,” said Junyi Zhang of NIO Capital, a venture fund focused on electric vehicles.
“他们(CATL)有潜力成为世界冠军。他们已经被全球参与者接受，”专注于电动车的风投基金蔚来资本(NIO Capital)的张君毅表示。
Backed by government policies, ranging from subsidies for electric vehicles to restrictions on foreign rivals — China’s battery companies are beginning to dominate an industry that has been led for three decades by South Korean and Japanese manufacturers such as Panasonic, which makes the battery cells for Tesla cars.
在政府政策——从补贴电动车到限制外国竞争对手——的支持下，中国的电池企业正开始主导这个由韩日制造商(比如为特斯拉制造电池的松下(Panasonic))引领了30年的行业。
CATL has been at the centre of Beijing’s efforts to establish China as the leading country in the global EV supply chain. It has received at least Rmb880m in government subsidies in recent years, according to the prospectus.
北京方面正致力于将中国打造为全球电动车供应链中的领先国家，CATL一直处于这一努力的中心。招股说明书显示，CATL近年来至少获得了8.8亿元人民币的政府补贴。
The company sold 6.80GWh of batteries last year, and has supply arrangements with Volkswagen and BMW, it said. CATL made profits of Rmb2.3bn on revenue of Rmb6.1bn in the first half of this year, according to the prospectus.
该公司表示，去年售出了6.80GWh的电池，并与大众(Volkswagen)和宝马(BMW)达成了供货安排。根据招股说明书，今年上半年，CATL的营收为61亿元人民币，利润23亿元人民币。
But with the impact of subsidies now fading, companies such as CATL “need to enlarge their volume to keep such a high profit margin”, according to Mr Zhang.
但张君毅表示，随着补贴优势日益消失，CATL等企业“需要扩大产能，以保持如此高的利润率”。
China Securities, Goldman Sachs and Industrial Securities are underwriters for the IPO. The listing is expected to take place within months, according to a person familiar with the situation.
中信建投证券(China Securities)、高盛和兴业证券(Industrial Securities)是此次IPO的承销商。知情人士透露，此次上市预计将在几个月内实现。
